Arapaho National Forest: Mount Evans Summit Road

 The final day of our Summer 2021 vacation. We've had a great trip and today was the highpoint (literally). We stayed in a hotel in Frisco last night. After our hike of Hanging Lake, we decided to go back to Glenwood Hot Springs to enjoy the water a bit more. By the time we left the hot spring it was already getting dark and I didn't want to try to find a campsite in an unfamiliar area. Instead, we ate dinner at Culver's and then made the drive through Glenwood Canyon and the mountains to Frisco. 

This morning we got a fast food breakfast for the road and made the drive to the Mount Evans Summit Road. Just like Hanging Lake, the Mount Evans Road requires a reservation. Ours was for 10 am. We arrived at the entrance station right on time and started our way up. The lower portions of the road were pretty uneventful. Then, as we neared Summit Lake, we watched a bighorn sheep walk over the rocky terrain. 

After watching the sheep, we continued our ascent, moving higher and higher up the mountain. Near the summit we spied some mountain goats. Some were resting just alongside the road.

Others seemed to be admiring the view.

Still, others were licking minerals off of a truck.

We parked alongside the road near the summit and walked over to the summit complex to have a look around. Our first stop was the sign at the parking area.

Then, we checked out the ruins of the old summit house,

before I used the summit finder to point the way to Long's Peak.

Unfortunately, smoke from distant wildfires made the sky too hazy to definitively show Long's and its companion Meeker. From the summit finder we decided to make our way up the short trail to the actual summit.

Sierra moved pretty slow at the high altitude, but eventually we made it to the top and had someone take our photo on the summit block.

Then, we made our way back to the car for the drive down. On the way we stopped to hike the Mount Goliath Natural Area. It traverses an area of bristlecone pines. Sierra wasn't feeling it though as she was feeling the effects of the high altitude. Still, we were able to hike a short portion before turning around.

Back at the car, we started to make our way east. We stopped for a late lunch in Evergreen before descending out of the mountains and down to the hot, dusty plains. It was an uneventful drive back to western Nebraska. It was sad to see our trip come to end, but we were happy with all the new memories we had made and the prospect of seeing our dog Rosie! We are already thinking about next year's summer vacation. Could another Colorado/Utah trip be in the works?